Table Manners with Jessie and Lennie Ware

We had the most gorgeous night celebrating the launch of Series 18 of Table Manners at Brunswick House! Thank you to all the fabulous guests for joining us for a delicious dinner cooked by chef Jackson Boxer, and the fabulous Moth cocktails too - the best canned Espresso Martini & Margs out there! Big shout out to the beautiful Park Hyatt London Riverside for treating us to balloons, an actual leopard print cake, and a gorgeous suite for us to get our glam on too. What a treat to get to keep talking to such fab podcast guests each week and to still be making this 18 series in! x Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we’re joined by British acting royalty - in every sense of the word - it’s the newly knighted Sir Gary Oldman! Mum & I popped over to the Dorchester in London where Gary treated us to his (and Jackson Lamb’s) very favourite Chinese meal.We heard all about his life in Palm Springs, his mum’s cooking, growing up in New Cross, playing Lee Harvey Oswald, living in an empty hotel, the future of Slow Horses and we hear an incredibly touching story of his friendship with the late John Hurt. Thank you Gary for such a delightful afternoon, what a treat to eat and chat with such an icon. The new fifth series of Slow Horses is now streaming on Apple TV+. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’re back, it’s Series 18 and as well as listening to us, you can now watch our full episodes on YouTube! We’re back with the one and only Reese Witherspoon! The Oscar winning actress popped round to Clapham for a roast with all the trimmings and we loved every minute. We heard all about her love of PG Tips, living in Nashville, becoming a Swedish Narwhal for her kids at story time, filming The Morning Show, what it was like being a mother to 34 piglets in Sing, drinking a green smoothie every morning and we heard the secret to the best cookie. What a total treat to have Reese kick off series 18 with us, we can’t wait to go cowboy boot shopping with her in Nashville! The brand new series of The Morning Show is now streaming on Apple TV+. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s the last in this summer’s serving of Second Helpings and we’re ending it with a true icon - for the start of series 15 we had Superstar P!nk pop round to mum’s for a perfectly ‘pink' meal of Pink Salmon with Salsa Verde followed by mum’s delicious Pink Raspberry & Champagne Possets. We had the best evening with P!nk who told us all about her magical live shows her love of Kugel & Matzo Ball soup while growing up the psychic she visited in Australia who revealed how her daughter and her go back lifetimes and being mistaken for Gwen Stefani in a supermarket. Thanks to my new bestie for popping round to Clapham for dinner! Next time you’re not allowed to leave! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s summer 2023 and ahead of the release of his epic new album 'Last Man Dancing’ we had the delicious Jake Shears joining us for a spot of dinner. Mum served up turbot and samphire for main with poached pears for pud. Jake told us all about the various places he lived while growing up - including the island his family moved to off the coast of Seattle where it's inhabited by foot long Banana Slugs (Google it, they’re gross!) - the beautiful and moving story of his best friend who inspired the hit song ‘Mary’ and drinking the mysterious ‘magic tonic’ purple drinks with the locals on Bourbon Street in his second home of New Orleans - a must do apparently! Jake we absolutely LOVE your fabulous new album can’t wait to have you round for Friday night chicken soup again soon! Jake also has a brilliant podcast called Queer The Music which celebrates LGBTQ+ anthems. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’re dishing up a real treat on Second Helpings this week - she’d been on the hit list since day one and finally we had her! The one the only Dame Joanna Lumley popped over to Clapham for a vegetable pie & some poached pears and it was quite frankly absolutely fabulous. Joanna talks to us about growing up in India being addicted to limes her love of the Queen & cocktail nights at home. Speaking with experience she talks us through her desert island meal & being Patsy Stone. Whadda woman.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s week 4 of Second Helpings and we were delighted to have our most requested guest, Sir Tom Jones, over to Lennie’s for lamb shanks a lemon curd roulade and a chat about his album ‘Surrounded By Time’ in 2021. We go way back and talk about Tom growing up in the 50’s playing marbles falling in love and getting married at 16. We also hear about his beloved mother’s corned beef pie. He reminisces about meals shared with Elvis Presley, Las Vegas bourbons with Frank Sinatra & Tom’s son / manager Mark even makes an appearance telling us how his Dad isn’t a very good cook..!! We loved having you Sir Tom, thank you! Enjoy! X Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’re travelling back to autumn 2021 and the start of series 12 where fellow foodie and Hollywood superstar, Stanley Tucci joined us. Mum had just come back from her holidays and I had just had my third baby! Stanley talks to us about growing up in New York, filming his TV show ‘Searching For Italy’ & his fight against cancer. He celebrates his mother’s cooking (& her famous lunchbox lunches!) & reveals his less than fine dining experience with Meryl Streep. Stanley’s food memoir ‘Taste’ is fantastic and is out now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Week 2 of our summer Second Helpings and we’re travelling back to November 2021 where we had pop princess, Jade Thirwall. Jade came over to mums for her favourite meal, a roast chicken dinner with all the trimmings! Turning up in full glam after a long photo shoot, it was just what the doctor ordered for our girl. She talked about her mum’s mince pies - and not the Christmas kind - her penchant for putting crisps in a tuna sarnie, drinking Malibu and always wanting the economy meal on the aeroplane. We discuss her beautiful relationship with the LGBTQ+ community and her obsession with Diana Ross. It’s all in there! Thank you Jade, you gem! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We may be on our summer break but we thought we’d delve into the Table Manners archive and relive some of our favourite episodes from 17 wonderful series! Up first is the gorgeous Aisling Bea who joined us in February 2020. We had been trying to nail down a recording with Aisling ever since we became friends on a Love Island WhatsApp group. I had laughed and swooned at her wit and grace from afar for a while so it was a total pleasure to offer a hoodie and a green tea to Irish actress writer and all round hilarious human, Aisling Bea. And thank God she came, if only to explain the meaning of 'dogging' to mum. We chat Irish whisky, plane food, Love Island (of course) sustainability and nibbling on toasted pecans. Aisling is the sharpest cheddar on the board and god we love her! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s the final episode of Series 17 and we’re bidding adieu with actor, presenter and author, the gorgeous Stephen Mangan! Fresh from filming his latest series in Grenada, Stephen joined us for a BBQ lunch. We heard about his process when writing children’s books, choosing to go to boarding school as a child, his recent stint in the West End in a play about thrupples, how he plans to run a marathon every year for the rest of his life, and mum manages to get him to tell us his confession - a la his Radio 4 series ‘The Confessional’. Thank you Stephen for being a fabulous series finale! Stephen’s new series of ‘The Fortune Hotel’ starts on the 6th August on ITV1. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We said it last week, but this time it really does feel like the hottest day of the year… joining us for lunch is the gorgeous actress Suranne Jones! Star of Doctor Foster, Vigil, Gentleman Jack, and a Coronation Street icon, and this week we caught up to talk about her new TV project, ‘Hostage’. We heard about growing up in Chadderton (and how mum used to go horse riding there!), how she met her husband at a wedding, filming Vigil during Covid lockdowns, setting up her own production company, admitting she isn’t the best cook and we even hear about her love of witches - and the Channel 4 documentary she made about them! This episode has been a very long time coming, Suranne, you were totally worth the wait as you are a total delight! Suranne’s new series Hostage launches on Netflix on the 21st August. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Get ready for one of foodiest guests we’ve ever had on the podcast, it’s actor Will Poulter! Will joined us on what was probably one of the hottest days of the year in London, so please excuse any fan noises you may hear in the episode or sweaty faces you will see! Will is a connoisseur in finding the best local restaurants to eat at and we loved hearing all about his recent stint in The Bear, creating a charity taco for a restaurant in London, the food scene in New Orleans when filming his latest project, working with incredible actors and actresses (including starring in the latest Haim video), labelling himself a professional eater, and we wouldn’t expect anything less than a fully thought out last supper ending with a trio of desserts! It was a complete pleasure to chat everything food, films & family with Will or ‘chicken man’ as he is fondly known as now. A total dream guest, Will is welcome for dinner every night! Keep an eye out for all the amazing projects Will has coming up soon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We have podcaster, author, and voice of Radio 2 drivetime joining us this week, the delightful Sara Cox! Mum’s just home from her Greek holidays, so we have a full Grecian menu for lunch - Psari Plaki with potatoes & Feta, followed by home made strawberry ice cream. Sara told us about making a podcast with her best friend Clare, growing up on a farm (and her dad’s foot injury from a bull called Ferrari), becoming an early riser to write her next book, the traditional Lancashire food she had growing up, and we hear about her Bake Off stint and how she won the show with her amazing showstopper! Sara you must come round again, and next time we’ll make you 'tatty ash' and black peas! Sara & Clare's podcast The Teen Commandments is out now on all podcast platforms. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

‘iya to this weeks guest, the gorgeous Charley Marlowe! She travelled down from Manchester especially to come and join us for lunch and it was glorious. We heard all about Charley becoming the voice of 'I Kissed A Girl’ on the BBC, taking on TikTok during lockdown, how honey is her secret ingredient in everything, her secret dress quick-change halfway through the BAFTAs, and what it was like finally meeting her idol, Jane McDonald. Thank you Charley for being so patient with us when both mum & I had a disaster with a mandoline (video to come). Charley really is a superstar presenter in the making, watch this space and she’ll be everywhere! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We have Irish acting royalty joining us this week – star of the stage, Killing Eve, Fleabag, Harry Potter, Star Wars, the list is endless – it's the incredible Fiona Shaw! Fiona is in the midst of promo for 2 films, Echo Valley and Hot Milk, and she found time to join us for a spot of brunch at Mum’s. We heard about life between London & New York (and Sri Lanka), her routine of a smoothie for breakfast every morning, working with the formidable Julianne Moore, her mum singing daily when she was growing up, and discovering and cooking Sri Lankan food with her wife. Fiona’s fantastic in both films – of course – don’t miss Echo Valley, which is out now on AppleTV+, and Hot Milk, which is released in cinemas on the 4th of July. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We have the wonderful Michelin star chef, and owner of La Gavroche, Michel Roux Jr joining us for lunch this week. Mum was surprisingly calm considering she was cooking for a double Michelin star chef, but Michel even got involved and guided her through the fish cooking! We heard all about Michel’s military training in his teens, his dad cooking for the Queen Mother, his love of vintage champagne, leaving Masterchef The Professionals due to potatoes and he tells us how his mother’s waters broke right in the middle of their dinner service! Michel was a true gentleman and joins our list of fabulous chef guests across the series. You can catch La Gavroche at Wimbledon this summer and on board selected Cunard cruise ships. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

‘Kia ora!’ to our next guest, former Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern. We caught up with Jacinda at the start of her book tour, and chatted over another delicious Ixta Belfrage recipe. We hear about how her aunt Marie got her into politics, making her favourite plum sauce, meeting world leaders, learning how to fillet fish from her husband, handling Covid in New Zealand, being pregnant while in office and she talks about studying for a masters at Harvard and now living in Boston. We also found out we have more in common than we thought, as Jacinda & I have both performed at the same Australian music festival, Laneway - hi DJ Jacinda! Jacinda’s brand new book ‘A Different Kind of Power’ is out now, it really is a fascinating read. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’re back in the UK, and we have an acting legend joining us this week - it’s Jason Isaacs! Jason had already been in touch earlier in the week to apologise for ‘being a vegan who doesn’t like vegetables’! But no bother! We cooked up a storm and we love a challenge. And Jason more than made up for it with his excellent table chat; we heard about working with Gillian Anderson on their new film ‘The Salt Path’, filming White Lotus, how he married his wife for the health insurance, his encounter with a ghost, turning down West End shows, and we discover that men who are vegan have better erections… Plus Jason even treats us to a magic trick, the must see video will be on our socials this week. Don’t miss Jason’s beautiful new film The Salt Path, which is out in cinemas this Friday the 30th May. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s the last episode of our New York series 💔and we’re going out with a bang with legendary Late Night host and SNL icon Seth Meyers! Seth popped over to the hotel for breakfast, catered by the fabulous Buba’s Bureka (and some Breads bakery babka too!) We covered everything from SNL, Broadway musicals, his love of Chinese food, pet goats, lockdown meatball obsessions, his mum’s legendary sandwich fillings, and what it’s like hanging out with his 3 year old daughter at restaurants. Seth, you are such a gent and we promise to cook for you when you join us again in London for the full chicken soup and matzo ball experience! A big thank you to The Standard High Line for having us on our New York adventure, and to all our fabulous guests too - think this might need to be a regular trip… Seth’s stand up special ‘Dad Man Walking’ is available to stream on HBO Max in the US and Sky in the UK now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.